Review:​ The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare

I’ve been itching to read a historical romance and thanks to some awesome blogging friends, The Duchess Deal caught my eye. I am so happy I decided to dive in and give it a try, I LOVED IT!!!

The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare

When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules…

Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.

His terms are simple:- They will be husband and wife by night only.- No lights, no kissing.- No questions about his battle scars.- Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.

But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own:- They will have dinner together every evening.- With conversation.- And unlimited teasing.- Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

5 out of 5 stars

​I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this. I loved the story line, the characters, the flow and details, and the amazing wit and charm. This was wickedly entertaining. I loved it!

Ash and Emma were quite a pair. Right from the beginning I was pulled into the story thanks to their personalities. They had such a great rapport. It was just so entertaining with their animosity and verbal sparring. I loved Emma's logic and how she stood up for herself and show she challenges the Duke. And the Duke... oh my! He was a bit mean and spiteful because of his scars and past but I knew deep down he was so much more. I loved watching his walls come down and him open up. I loved watch Emma's attempts to draw him out of himself. It was so incredibly sweet. This almost had a Beauty and the Beast feel to me and I ate it up.

There's some drama of course but not a lot. Enough to keep things moving along and add some spice to the story. There's a nice amount of emotion as well and a heck of a lot of heat. I loved it all. There is this beautiful building relationship and romance as they get to know each other and open up and I was excited about every detail. I also like the mischief that the Duke was up too at night, that added another layer of humor to the story.

I thought the writing was excellent. The story flowed nicely. I loved the descriptions of the time period and details. I thought the build was fantastic and there was great character development. Wonderful pace. The smart, witty comebacks and pet names Emma called Ash were priceless. There were just so many great moments, I couldn’t get enough. I thought there was a great cast of characters as well between Emma's friends and the Duke’s staff. Their interactions created a lot of fun moments. It was just a really well rounded story.

On a personal note, this is the first historical romance I ever read since 2013. After seeing so many positive reviews for this story and friends recommending it, I decided to step outside of my box and give it a try. I have to say, I have been missing out and shame on me because this was fantastic. Tessa Dare has a new fan in me! I finished and pretty much wanted to add her entire back list to my TBR. It was just so entertaining, I adored it!